Silly boys, Football is for girls too

While many girls going into high school dream of trying out and making the cheer squad on rooting for the boys in the fall, 15-year old sophomore Sabrina Raymond had different dreams.

Corey Roberts

While many girls going into high school dream of trying out and making the cheer squad on rooting for the boys in the fall, 15-year old sophomore Sabrina Raymond had different dreams.

That’s because this girl would rather suit-up in shoulder pads and a helmet on Friday night than wave pom-poms around.

Sabrina is the younger sister of the Lions’ standout varsity running back, Tyler Raymond. According to Maxpreps.com, Tyler is the fourth leading rusher in the Sac Valley Conference with 408 yards.

She told me she had been playing flag football in middle school when her brother, Tyler, convinced her that she should play football in high school.

And Sabrina took her brother’s advice.

Sabrina is currently the only female on Live Oak’s JV football team. Well, actually, she’s the only female in the entire Lions’ program.

This is currently her second season playing high school football; she played on the freshman team last season.

When asked what her experience playing ball with the boys was like, her answer was simple: “It’s just fun…it’s a hard work out, but it’s fun.” She says her teammates treat her like one of the guys, and they don’t act differently toward her just because she’s one of the few girls in the region that plays football.

She told me that opposing teams sometimes act indifferent toward her when they find out #59 is a girl. “Some of them take it easy, but some of them just play ball.” She stated that one of her favorite parts of playing the game is just seeing how others react when they find out they have a girl lining up across from them.

Sabrina plays nose guard and defensive tackle for the Lions’ JV team. She is also active in other sports such as basketball and softball. Sabrina is planning on leaving Live Oak after the season, however. She and her family are moving to Massachusetts where her father is originally from.